With his father, he founded a smithy in upstate New York originally to manufacture farming tools. In 1816, Remington introduced a highly accurate rifle, the demand for which changed the focus of the business to firearms production. Eliphalet took over the business upon his father's death in 1828 and established a rifle factory in Ilion, New York. As the business prospered, Remington expanded the line to include a pistol. Government contracts for guns to fight the Mexican War fueled the growth of the firm, which soon included Eliphalet's three sons. They introduced a line of agricultural tools in 1856, but demand for firearms surged again with the Civil War. Upon Eliphalet's death, his son Philo took over the firm during the Civil War, in which the company again played a key role, and diversified the product line to include sewing machines (1870) and typewriters (1873), which were exhibited at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876.